On 30 January 2005, I posted a strip from my Monkeys Like Us series called “Last Week at Work“. It was a funny little moment inspired by something my colleague, WorkPaul, said during one of our team meetings.

So, why am I being so specific about this date?

Well, fast forward a couple of years to 2007, when I found myself watching the Jimmy Carr Comedian dvd, recorded earlier that year at London’s Bloomsbury Theatre. I was enjoying Jimmy’s usual quick-fire wit and deadpan delivery, but then something strange happened. Jimmy Carr delivered a joke that sounded suspiciously familiar. He recounted a humorous situation involving someone named… Paul.

(Warning, the video contains salty language!)

That’s right. He didn’t even bother to change the name! It was eerily similar to the joke I had published in my comic two years earlier.

Now, I’m not suggesting that Jimmy Carr somehow stumbled across my little webcomic and decided to swipe a punchline. Or am I? Either way, the coincidence was just a bit too on the nose for my liking. Same joke. Same name. And a nearly identical setup.

Coincidence? Maybe. Case closed? Absolutely not. Case proven? Well, in the court of my mind, definitely. 😄

At the very least, it makes for a great story to tell about the time a world-famous comedian may or may not have “borrowed” one of my jokes.

Edit: While re-reading this post I noticed something new. The screengrab for the video shows the audience right at the start of the joke. Dead centre of the shot is a guy in a blue t-shirt that I’m 97% sure is my friend Alex. Maybe one coincidence too many!